Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted R+1%. Republican peak: R+36 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+1MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 522,5602024 5-year
- Median household income
- $71,8652024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 75.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 10.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 8.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+24 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+36 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Lexington-Fayette, KY, KYOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 117,200 | 120,601 | 242,804 | ||
| D | 125,564 | 120,086 | 251,159 | ||
| R | 96,092 | 111,396 | 222,412 | ||
| R | 88,799 | 109,549 | 202,743 | ||
| R | 94,151 | 106,991 | 203,838 | ||
| R | 83,134 | 111,408 | 196,242 | ||
| R | 69,343 | 89,589 | 164,036 | ||
| R | 64,245 | 65,566 | 140,620 | ||
| R | 56,657 | 63,516 | 144,308 | ||
| R | 48,587 | 72,753 | 122,550 | ||
| R | 42,480 | 78,247 | 121,869 | ||
| R | 49,186 | 52,908 | 109,560 | ||
| R | 44,693 | 48,679 | 95,768 | ||
| R | 27,887 | 60,485 | 90,423 | ||
| R | 26,794 | 35,481 | 77,240 | ||
| D | 42,338 | 26,493 | 69,127 | ||
| R | 29,228 | 38,079 | 67,307 | ||
| R | 27,378 | 33,859 | 61,794 | ||
| D | 29,302 | 28,312 | 57,795 | ||
| D | 28,080 | 18,072 | 47,812 | ||
| D | 29,210 | 19,496 | 49,003 | ||
| D | 33,542 | 22,469 | 56,180 | ||
| D | 32,049 | 21,746 | 54,076 | ||
| D | 36,069 | 22,021 | 58,473 | ||
| R | 22,937 | 33,534 | 56,527 | ||
| D | 27,071 | 24,718 | 52,538 | ||
| D | 34,722 | 25,394 | 60,560 | ||
| D | 17,807 | 13,482 | 31,566 | ||
| D | 15,379 | 9,581 | 28,865 | ||
| D | 16,020 | 13,353 | 29,855 | ||
| D | 15,607 | 12,017 | 28,108 | ||
| D | 14,822 | 14,469 | 29,690 | ||
| R | 13,414 | 14,872 | 29,019 | ||
| D | 12,257 | 8,907 | 22,150 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
15.3%
German
11.9%
Irish
11.1%
American
9.8%
Scottish
2.5%
Italian
2.3%
French
1.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 36.8 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$71,865
Lexington-Fayette, KY ranks near the middle of US counties.
Lexington-Fayette, KY$71,865
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
13.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1816.8%
Working age (18–64)13.1%
Seniors (65+)10.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.0%
speak English only
Spanish6.1%
Other Indo-European2.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.8%
Other languages1.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 52.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Lexington anchors the Bluegrass region as Kentucky's second-largest metro, where a large university population and white-collar professional growth have gradually narrowed margins that once ran heavily in one direction.
The Democratic margin in Lexington-Fayette, KY has rarely exceeded twenty-four points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded thirty-six points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Republican candidate by one points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 75% non-Hispanic-white share, a 14% poverty rate, and a median household income of $71,865 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/30460/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky voted Republican by 1.4 points (R+1), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 242,804 votes cast, 117,200 went Democratic and 120,601 went Republican.
What is Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 16 times, Republican 18 times, and other 0 times.
When did Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky?
Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky has a population of 522,560 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky?
Median household income in Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky is $71,865 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Lexington-Fayette, KY, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.